Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,762 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,877 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.20% of Argan worth $3,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth $93,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Argan by 68.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Argan in the third quarter valued at $186,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total transaction of $1,460,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,291 shares in the company, valued at $7,491,050.55. This represents a 16.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,405,050. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,185 shares of company stock valued at $3,105,359. 11.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Argan Trading Down 5.3 %

AGX stock opened at $125.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $149.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19 and a beta of 0.56. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.15 and a 52 week high of $191.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The construction company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.74. Argan had a return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 8.20%. The company had revenue of $257.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.60 million. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 56.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 31.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Lake Street Capital lowered shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. CJS Securities restated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Argan Profile

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.